If your content is within a frame or sub-area of a page, consider ways to simplify your navigation system.

Guidance

Indicate where a user is within the navigational hierarchy. Use the “active” state to show users which page they have navigated to.

Keep the navigation links short. They can be shorter derivatives of page titles themselves.

If the navigation hierarchy is too long, users may miss items at the bottom. If it’s too deep, users may miss items that require too many clicks. Usability test to find the right balance between breadth and depth.

Become part of the community

The U.S. Web Design System has grown into a blossoming, open source community of government engineers, content specialists, and designers. We currently support dozens of agencies and more than 100 sites, which is fueled through an active community of contributors both in and out of government.